Anthony Marsh, the new chief executive of East of England Ambulance Service, who has pledged to improve slow response times, said the move was “a great step forward for staff, patients and local communities”.

The recruitment drive was launched this week and the training programme for a student paramedic to qualify takes two and half years to complete. Officials from the ambulance trust said successful participants will be offered full-time paramedic contracts.

Dr Marsh said: “We are aiming to recruit 400 students, and while this may be an ambitious target, it means we will have a whole lot of fully qualified paramedics on the road responding to our patients in the future. This is a great step forward for our service.”

“This programme will secure new employees for the service who will learn on the job and in the classroom. It is a great opportunity for anyone who has ever thought of becoming a paramedic and helping people in their community, sometimes in their greatest hour of need.”

For further information about the new roles and to apply, visit www.jobs.nhs.uk